When you see the title to this webinar, I know what some of you will be thinking: “I don’t ride. I don’t even work with horses. Why would I want to attend this webinar?”

The answer is simple. Riding is just ground work where you get to sit down. The same concepts apply. So even if you work primarily with dogs and other animals that we typically don’t ride, there is much that can be borrowed from clicker training horses that applies to other species.

And if you do ride, this program is definitely for you!

Learning Objectives:

The connection between ground work and riding

Some common questions about riding with the clicker - beginning with how do you deliver the treat?

Your expressway to excellence - the value of stopping to get the treat

Examining performance goals

Safety first

Balance matters - why?

Before and after - a case study leading to equine beauty and well-being

Find a look that pleases your eye

A photo journal of a beautiful ride

Which do you focus on - outcome or process?

Shaping micro

The elephant in the room - pressure and release of pressure

Commands versus cues

Going micro: your base unit - gives defined

Develop your eye - gives observed

Developing lightness

About The Presenter

Alexandra Kurland is a graduate of Cornell University where she specialized in animal behavior. She began teaching horse training in the early 1980's. Her area of particular interest is the development of a horse's balance: physical and emotional. Helping horses stay sound and happy throughout a long lifetime is the goal. The result are beautiful horses that feel like heaven to ride.
In 1998 Alexandra launched the rapidly growing field of clicker training for horses with the publication of her book, "Clicker Training for Your Horse".
Alexandra's work helps you apply clicker training to any equine need or sport - including developing a gentle and companionable riding horse, halter training foals, training advanced performance horses, and retraining difficult to manage horses. Her own riding interests align most closely with classical dressage.
Alexandra travels widely, giving clicker training seminars and presenting at conferences in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.

In addition to "Clicker Training for your Horse", she has written "The Click That Teaches: A Step–By–Step Guide in Pictures" and "The Click That Teaches: Riding with the Clicker". She has also produced The Click That Teaches DVD lesson series, and The Clicker Center On-line Training Course. She maintains a very active blog, theclickercenterblog.com. She has published a book: "JOYFULL Horses" in her blog and most recently "The Goat Diaries". Her current project is Equiosity, a weekly podcast which she produces with Dominique Day, one of the co-founders of Cavalia.

Learn the steps that you can use to teach a dog to go to their bed, not because you say so, but because the dog hears someone at the door. Have the dog stay there until released! Imagine life with a dog that runs away from the door, not towards it!

Objectives:

Learn the breakdown, all the steps required to get this skill despite distractions at the door.

Understand how training this problem “when guests arrive” can be the wrong approach.

Learn why some dogs snub cookies when guests arrive and how to overcome it.

Why some dogs get worse not better even when families think they are reinforcing good behavior.

Learn the value of weakening the power of the sound of the doorbell.

Why it’s important to cut yourself some slack and decide it’s necessary to focus fully on the dog during training. You can put your dog away when you’re distracted!

About The Presenter

Yvette Van Veen has two decades of experience training dogs, lives and works in London Ontario. She offers both group and private sessions. She has worked extensively with formerly feral dogs. Yvette’s writing has been a long-standing feature in Ontario’s newspapers, currently appearing in the Toronto Star. Her life is shared with her son Jordan, her formerly feral dog, “Kipper the ex-crotch ripper”, border collie, “Karma” and Icarus the cat. You can reach Yvette at info@awesomedogs.ca or follow her at: https://www.facebook.com/londondogtrainer/

For dog lovers – and dog trainers in particular – communicating about reward-based dog training, the importance of enrichment, and management strategies for behavior problems is an essential part of promoting good animal welfare. But sometimes it feels like we are mired in a sea of misinformation (and not just about dogs!). Drawing on research in psychology and science communication, this webinar will look at evidence-based ways to communicate more effectively. We will use the example of reward-based dog training in particular, but the strategies and techniques apply to any time we want to get an important message across.

Psychological science gives us several reasons why debunking false information can backfire, including the fact that repetition can make false ideas seem true, and correcting wrong information can be a threat to people’s identity, serving instead to reinforce those ideas. But while arguing may not be beneficial, just a few dissenting voices can make a big difference to perceptions of consensus. Luckily, there are plenty of tips from science communication that apply to talking about dog training, and this webinar will look at what we can do to make a positive difference.

Learning objectives:

Understand why debunking misinformation can backfire

Know the best approach to take when debunking ideas

Develop ways to teach people how to evaluate information about dog training

Create messages that will engage, inspire and inform.

About The Presenter

Zazie Todd PhD

Zazie Todd is the creator of Companion Animal Psychology, a blog about how to have happier cats and dogs (according to science). She has a PhD in Psychology, an MFA Creative Writing, and is an honors graduate of the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers. She takes dogs and cats as clients through her business Blue Mountain Animal Behaviour. She has a Psychology Today blog called Fellow Creatures, and has also written about pets for Pacific Standard, The Psychologist, and Reader’s Digest. Her book, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy, will be published by Greystone Books in February 2020.

How to Bring Back the Food Motivation -

In the not so food motivated dog

Bring out the foodie in the food snubbing dog.Learn many reasons why dogs turn off food, and what you can do about it.

Objectives:

Food as a primary reinforcer - it’s an excellent motivator

Dogs are scavengers. They eat all sorts of nasty things…so why would they turn away from chicken?

Is there a “not motivated by food” dog?

Learn the many - many reasons why dogs snub food.

Learn how not to turn dogs off food.

Learn strategies that bring back the foodie.

Supplementation (positive reinforcement) versus deprivation. No you don’t need to starve a dog.

Why is it important to pay attention to a dog’s desire to eat.

About The Presenter

Yvette Van Veen has two decades of experience training dogs, lives and works in London Ontario. She offers both group and private sessions. She has worked extensively with formerly feral dogs. Yvette’s writing has been a long-standing feature in Ontario’s newspapers, currently appearing in the Toronto Star. Her life is shared with her son Jordan, her formerly feral dog, “Kipper the ex-crotch ripper”, border collie, “Karma” and Icarus the cat. You can reach Yvette at info@awesomedogs.ca or follow her at: https://www.facebook.com/londondogtrainer/

Whether you’re a solopreneur or manage a team, being a boss means you do it all. The best way to lead a professional, successful business is to set boundaries based around your unique value. We will discuss how operating from fear can negatively impact decision-making, yet creating clear-cut, forward-thinking boundaries can positively impact work/life balance, profitability, company culture and more.

We dissect this through worksheets, which we will provide after the presentation to continue the brainstorming at home. We will begin to help you define your Unique Value in a competitive market, as well as audit your company’s boundaries to honor your own needs, and those of your clients, vendors and employees.

Key Learning Objectives

Using a provided template and guided discussion, participants will learn to identify their unique value proposition and the ways in which they can position themselves within competitive markets by setting and maintaining boundaries based upon their unique worth to eliminate current or common pain points.

Through guided exercises, participants will expand their understanding of setting boundaries in their pet care business and how this can impact profitability, work/life balance, company relationships and culture.

By identifying their pain points and their boundary objectives, participants will leave with a clearer vision for strategic growth, profitability, company culture and work/life balance.

About The Presenter

Adina Silberstein

Adina Silberstein is the Founder, President and CEO of award-winning, Northwest Philadelphia-based professional pet sitting and dog walking company, Queenie’s Pets ®. She is an entrepreneur and business coach, specializing in processes, organization, company culture and profitability. Adina is committed to urban communities, force-free practices, empowering others, and ongoing professional and personal development.

Queenie's Pets® storefront operates as a boutique retail store, administrative office, and as a community center for pet owners. They offer a resource library, workshop and lecture series, and sell only unique and enriching products that Make the Lives of Pets and Their Humans Better™.

Adina lives in Philadelphia with her fiancee and their crew of rescues: “Rottie-Scottie” MeloDrama, and cats: Mouse, Zizzy, Brucie Marbles and perpetual bad-boy, Tuxedo Snacks.

Fear is an emotion and, as such, subject to respondent conditioning. Therefore, trying to solve fear related problems by focusing solely on modifying the behavior may be pointless. Fear related problems need a respondent as well as an operant approach.

Fear learning is a type of emotional learning that is quite persistent for various reasons: a) it is linked with survival; b) the brain is prewired with a negativity bias; c) sensory information conveyed by the thalamus reaches the amygdala (the brain’s center for emotional processing) much faster than it reaches the neocortex (the brain’s center for cognitive processes and thought). This means an animal will more readily emit an emotional response than a thought-out one.

This presentation focuses not only on fear learning, but also on the mechanisms that make it so persistent and why a respondent approach to solving fear related problems is essential. Some guidelines for effectively working with fearful dogs will also be presented.

Learning Objectives

The function of emotions.

How fear learning occurs.

Systematic desensitization is much more than gradually reducing distance between the dog and the feared stimulus.

How to effectively apply systematic desensitization when working with fearful dogs.

Why respondent extinction may backfire in some cases.

How differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors may, in fact, be flooding.

Some guidelines for working with fearful dogs.

Your Presenter

Alexandra Santos

Alexandra Santos is a professional canine behavior consultant and trainer, with formal education through The Animal Care College in the U.K. where she graduated with honors for the Diploma of Advanced Canine Psychology, and through The Companion Animal Sciences Institute where she graduated with distinction for the Diploma of Advanced Dog Training.

She is the author of the books “Puppy Problems” and “Puppy and Dog Care” and has also authored and co-authored several articles for the Journal of Applied Companion Animal Behavior and for the International Institute for Applied Companion Animal Behavior. Alexandra lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal, has been a lecturer at several seminars on positive reinforcement-based training, regularly presents webinars for the Pet Professional Guild, is a professor at Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias and provides individual coaching for dogs and their people.

It’s not uncommon for dogs to live an outside-only existence prior to moving inside. Homeless dogs, working dogs, dogs in an agricultural context, and many other dogs may spend part of their lives living mostly or exclusively outside. For various reasons (changes in the social and legal milieu, impoundment at a municipal shelter, relinquishment for behavioral issues, and so on) many ‘outside’ dogs make the journey from an outside life to an inside life. Sometimes, this transition goes off without a hitch, but frequently there are issues that crop up. Since we don’t want dogs practicing unwanted behavior, especially homeless dogs seeking placement or owned dogs whose welcome into the family home may be tentative, it’s best to set these dogs up for success starting right from the get-go: chew training, potty training, and so on.

Based on my experience running a small sled dog rescue for ten years and my current work with many clients in rural Manitoba, I know that the transition between outside life and inside life doesn’t need to be painful or messy. I’ll review how best to plan for the dog’s arrival, including useful equipment, toys, and other acquisitions for setting up the home environment; schedules; and stress-relieving techniques to keep the dog busy during the first few days or weeks of habituating to a new world. I’ll also talk about fear-reducing techniques for dogs who are a bit overwhelmed. With a bit of preparation and a few easy protocols, outside dogs tend to transition easily into inside homes, and avoid some of the typical pitfalls that can hinder good outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

How to prepare a home to receive an adult outside dog

House-training and chew-training protocols

Reasonable expectations for the behavior of an outside dog during the first few weeks

Mitigating unrealistic expectations and setting dogs up for success

Preventing behavioral issues through supervision and training

Identifying and reducing fearfulness and anxiety

Use of enrichment and exercise to ensure a calm, happy dog

About The Presenter

Kristi is an honours graduate of, and now on staff at, the Academy for Dog Trainers. At the Academy, she is a student mentor and coach, and is in charge of the weekly webinars. Kristi is also in charge of special projects, including the Husbandry Project, which is a large co-operative veterinary care research study working with hundreds of dog owners, testing the efficiency and usefulness of a series of training plans. In her private practice, Kristi enjoys working one-on-one with dogs who need help with obedience, fearfulness, aggression, unruliness, and any number of other issues. Besides offering professional training services in the Parkland region of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada; Kristi also works with clients across Canada via video chat. She also loves helping the humans in the equation, and brings her trademark combination of humour and compassion to the kitchen table when working with her clients. Kristi is one of a stable of course developers working with Lori Nanan at lorinanan.com, offering custom-made online content to dog owners and dog pros.

Kristi also enjoys reaching out to dog owners through writing. Besides her own blog, she also regularly writes for the Academy for Dog Trainers’ blog and for Dog International. For ten years, she ran a sled dog micro-rescue with her partner, and fostered, house-trained, obedience-trained, and re-homed racing sled dogs. She lives on a small mixed farm in west central Manitoba. Kristi is a Full Member Dog Training Professional of the Pet Professional Guild and is Fear Free certified (Vet professional level 1; dog training).

So many of our handling techniques are done TO the animals we are training. I want to use techniques that are done WITH my animals. This program explores what that means and it illustrates some remarkable changes that can be achieved using very basic lessons, but using them mindfully. It is built around some remarkable before and after video footage taken at a clinic.

The talk includes a description of the microshaping strategy, and the use of constructional training. The images are all those of horses, but the concepts apply to any animal where good balance matters.

Learning Objectives:

Who owns the process - what does that mean: illustrated with example/non-example

An introduction to Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement

Teaching the micro behaviors that create good balance

Before and after examples

There are many different strategies for developing micro awareness

The micro shaping Strategy

Shaping on a Point of Contact

Simple lessons can create great changes: a remarkable case history

Who owns the process - an answer from Mia Segal, a Feldenkrais practitioner

Asking questions not giving answers: here are the questions

About The Presenter

Alexandra Kurland is a graduate of Cornell University where she specialized in animal behavior. She began teaching horse training in the early 1980's. Her area of particular interest is the development of a horse's balance: physical and emotional. Helping horses stay sound and happy throughout a long lifetime is the goal. The result are beautiful horses that feel like heaven to ride.
In 1998 Alexandra launched the rapidly growing field of clicker training for horses with the publication of her book, "Clicker Training for Your Horse".
Alexandra's work helps you apply clicker training to any equine need or sport - including developing a gentle and companionable riding horse, halter training foals, training advanced performance horses, and retraining difficult to manage horses. Her own riding interests align most closely with classical dressage.
Alexandra travels widely, giving clicker training seminars and presenting at conferences in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.

In addition to "Clicker Training for your Horse", she has written "The Click That Teaches: A Step–By–Step Guide in Pictures" and "The Click That Teaches: Riding with the Clicker". She has also produced The Click That Teaches DVD lesson series, and The Clicker Center On-line Training Course. She maintains a very active blog, theclickercenterblog.com. She has published a book: "JOYFULL Horses" in her blog and most recently "The Goat Diaries". Her current project is Equiosity, a weekly podcast which she produces with Dominique Day, one of the co-founders of Cavalia.

The benefit of creating strong behavioral momentum to create behaviors that persist despite distractions and in the absence of reinforcement

How do you harness momentum to create strong reliable behaviors

Rate of reinforcement - the magic happens here

About The Presenter

Yvette Van Veen has two decades of experience training dogs, lives and works in London Ontario. She offers both group and private sessions. She has worked extensively with formerly feral dogs. Yvette’s writing has been a long-standing feature in Ontario’s newspapers, currently appearing in the Toronto Star. Her life is shared with her son Jordan, her formerly feral dog, “Kipper the ex-crotch ripper”, border collie, “Karma” and Icarus the cat. You can reach Yvette at info@awesomedogs.ca or follow her at: https://www.facebook.com/londondogtrainer/

Behavioral stereotypies in captive animals have been defined as repetitive, largely invariant patterns of behavior that serve no obvious goal or function (Mason, 1991a; Ödberg, 1978). Stereotypies are commonly attributed to boredom and/or fear and are typically “treated” by trying to enrich the captive environment with distracting, appealing stimuli. These stimuli often include food presented at times outside of regular feeding times, and as a result, engage species-typical foraging behaviors in the process of reducing stereotypic activity.

This presentation examines the defining features and common hypotheses surrounding stereotypies, including what their function is and how they can be addressed. Of primary concern will be (1) what are stereotypies (what does and doesn’t meet the definition), (2) specific examples of how they’ve been discussed and dealt with, and (3) practical solutions for applied animal behaviorists for both defining and treating stereotypies. Emphasis will be placed on an empirical, functional approach to dealing with stereotypies, including how any scientist and/or practitioner can be most effective when dealing with this topic.

Learning Objectives

What are stereotypies in terms of their definition and examples?

How do we talk about stereotypies in terms of their form and function?

What evidence supports their hypothesized functions?

How are most stereotypies treated, and which of these treatments are most effective?

What does an empirical, functional approach to stereotypies look like, and why is this important for both science and practice?

About The Presenter

Eduardo J Fernandez, PhD

School of Behavior Analysis, Florida Institute of Technology

Dr. Eduardo J. Fernandez received his Ph.D. in Psychology (minors in Neuroscience and Animal Behavior) from Indiana University, where he worked with the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Zoo. He received his M.S. in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas, where he
founded and was President of the Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals (ORCA). Most of his past and current work involves conducting research on the behavioral welfare of captive exotic animals found in zoos and aquariums. He has worked with close to 50 species of animals, with a focus on marine animals, carnivores, and primates. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the School of Behavior Analysis at Florida Institute of Technology. His past positions include an Affiliate Professorship in the Psychology Department at University of Washington, Research Fellowship with Woodland Park Zoo, and National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. While working with UW and Woodland Park Zoo, he started the Behavioral Enrichment Animal Research (BEAR) group, which conducted welfare research with the African and Asian elephants, hippos, Humboldt penguins, grizzly bears, sun bears, sloth bears, Sumatran tigers, jaguars, African wild dogs, meerkats, golden lion tamarins, and ostriches located at the zoo. Eduardo also continues to run the Animal Reinforcement Forum (ARF), a former listserv and now Facebook group, which is dedicated to group discussions on animal training and behavior from a scientific perspective.

Re-think Trigger Stacking - Shedding some (candle) light on triggers for behaviors we wish to modify or change

Edie-Jane Eaton has shared her ‘candle’ concept for many years. We may all be aware of the term ‘trigger stacking’ but Edie-Jane’s brilliant analogy helps canine guardians look more closely at the multiple ‘candles’ that may be burning for a dog that is struggling to learn or cope with his environment and human led activities.

Several candles may be alight due to internal problems such as pain, patterns of tension through the body, the environment at home including slippery floors, noise sensitivity, the games that are played and the way a dog is touched long before more candles are lit once out in the big wide world.

Whilst it may not be possible to blow out every candle, there is a lot that we can do to help our clients snuff out the flames, reducing ‘ heat’ and enabling a dog to settle and learn.

This webinar presentation will also include the following learning objectives

The link between posture and behavior

Introduction to ACE Free Work

Simple leash handling techniques to reduce body tension

About The Presenter

Sarah Fisher

Tilley Farm, Farmborough,

Sarah Fisher is a canine and equine behavior advisor. She has worked with animals for over twenty years and incorporates some of the elements of the Tellington TTouch method in her work. She is experienced with a wide range of breed types and teaches staff workshops for many of the UK’s animal welfare organizations including Battersea. She has also worked in Europe teaching staff workshops for shelters including SPCA Malta and GIA (Romania) and has taught workshops and clinics for dog trainers and behaviorists in Holland, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, South Africa, Ireland, Romania and Poland.

Sarah gives presentations on a variety of topics at dog training and behavior seminars in the UK and abroad, and is a regular speaker at the annual Dog Behaviour Conference (UK). She also conducts behavior assessments for private clients, animal welfare organizations and court cases.

Sarah is a published author and has participated in numerous television and radio programs over the years including the recent Nightmare Pets SOS for BBC1. She runs courses under the name Animal Centred Education (ACE) for trainers, groomers, veterinary nurses, physiotherapists and animal behavior counsellors who wish to broaden their expertize by learning detailed observations combined with Free Work, and techniques inspired by other professionals working in the world of animal welfare and behavior.

How can we learn more about the animals we work with and help them overcome challenges when we have so many other responsibilities and things to do on a daily basis? We will explore how everyday interactions with animals is a learning experience not only for them but also for us to learn more about their individual needs and increase their adoptability. Each interaction we have with the animals in our care is an opportunity for us to better understand who they are and by understanding and implementing functional assessments we are better equipped to not only understand individual animals but address behavior challenges as needed. Whether we are entering a dog’s kennel to leash them for a walk or we are opening a cat’s kennel to clean their litter box, how they behave in these and other daily situations informs us of how we can help them better handle being in a shelter while developing life skills until they are adopted. In this session, attendees will learn how to be aware of each animal’s behavior, understand what that behavior means, and help the animal’s overcome challenges as soon as they are recognized with techniques to easily implement into daily routines. By doing this, we are setting them up for success both in the shelter and in their future home.

Learning Objectives:

Understand what functional assessments are and how to conduct them.

Learn about the importance of recognizing behaviors and how to do so quickly after admission.

Understand how to implement basic techniques to manage and overcome undesirable behaviors.

Learn how to implement lifesaving techniques and programs into daily routines.

About The Presenter

Dr. Carley Faughn has worked with canines, felines, and nonhuman primates since 2007 merging her passion for comparative cognition, animal welfare, and animal rescue. In March 2018, Dr. Faughn transitioned from Dogtown Manager to the Senior Manager of Animal Care at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. In this role, she continues overseeing Dogtown and Dogtown’s behavior team, as well as Adoptions, the sanctuary’s Animal Care Consultant, and the sanctuary’s well-being studies. Dr. Faughn works with the Dogtown team to develop creative wellness plans and enrichment ideas to ensure every dog has a good quality of life while still working on life skills for their adopted homes. In addition, Dr. Faughn collaborates with Best Friends’ Lifesaving Centers as well as Best Friends’ Network Partners to implement lifesaving programs and facilitate teachings about animal behavior and cognition. Before coming to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Dr. Faughn served as Executive Director of Acadiana Animal Aid (AAA) in Lafayette, LA for three years. She joined AAA as Executive Director just before completing her PhD at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Cognitive Science, 2014) and after serving as a caregiver at the nonprofit animal rescue for several years. During her time at Acadiana Animal Aid she led a team to increase their life saving efforts from 385 lives saved in 2013 to well over 2,000 lives saved in her final year as Executive Director in 2016. Dr. Faughn played an integral role in Lafayette, LA committing to reaching no-kill by 2020 and they are on path to achieve this goal.

Emotional Dog -

Riding the canine emotional roller-coaster in our chaotic human world

For those of us compassionate about animal welfare, we want our dogs, and the dogs we work with professionally, to trust us and to be fundamentally ‘happy’ in their day-to-day lives. But what does ‘happy’ actually mean? Over the last 2 decades there have been huge steps forward in our understanding of emotional states in other animals, and much of the more recent research has used dogs as the model because they are easy to study and, like us, have rich emotional lives. We now know what emotional states we humans share with other animals and we also know the emotional states that are most likely to be unique to us. We know where they are generated in the brain, how they work and what happens when they go wrong.

Canis lupus familiaris is the victim of its own success. The process of domestication has led to a number of modifications to the functionality of the core emotional systems that has left dogs more vulnerable to developing mental illness akin to those of humans. In this webinar, Robert will show you where these weaknesses are located neurophysiologically and emotionally, and why you need to know about them in order to fix them. This knowledge is hugely important for anyone working with dogs and are concerned about their welfare, including dog owners, trainers, behaviourists and veterinary professionals. The knowledge you will gain will change how you see dogs forever. This is a bold statement, but it is true.

Key Learning Objectives

Understand the functional organisation of the canine self.

Understand the influence of genetics on canine emotionality.

Understand the vulnerability of emotional systems to trauma.

Understand the roles of epigenetics and neural plasticity in emotional repair and restoration.

About The Presenter

Dr Robert Falconer-Taylor BVetMed DipCABT MRCVS

Dr. Robert Falconer-Taylor was veterinary director and head of education of the Centre of Applied Pet Ethology (COAPE), the first organisation in the UK to develop government-regulated courses to degree level specifically in companion animal behaviour and training. COAPE also developed the renowned EMRA system used by behaviourists and trainers all over the world, now summarised in their book – EMRA Intelligence: The revolutionary new approach to treating behaviour problems in dogs.

He teaches and consults around the world along with writing for the veterinary and other professional press. He is also author of the informative EMOTIONS-R-US Blog, published on the Emotions-R-Us website, which has been taken up and endorsed by many training and behaviour organisations all over the world.

He is an international consultant to the pet industry where he has engaged in the development and risk assessment of pet ‘toys’ targeted specifically at promoting the welfare of pets and their relationships with their owners. He has been actively involved in the development of the ‘The Puppy Plan’, first launched in February 2012 and updated in 2014, a collaboration between Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club. He is also a member of the International Cat Care Behavioural Advisory Panel.

His primary academic interests include companion animal cognitive science and emotionality, nutrition and its effects on behaviour, and applied neurophysiology, pharmacology and therapeutics in companion animal behaviour therapy.

He promotes the idea wherever and whenever he can that –“The key to better animal welfare is through education and better understanding of the rich emotional lives our pets share with us”.